Jacqueline Tosto- Week 6

This week in seminar we discussed the policies that integrate societies with the environment and human activities with environmental issues. One of the main problems is recycling when it comes to the economy. Although recycling is a great thing for the environment, its closes the loose which increases costs of products because there is less of a need for new products. Society must operate accept that the economy must operate within limits and that resources will not last forever. Very few countries however act this way.
We also learned about the UN World Commission on Environment and Development and its Chair, Gro Harlem Bruhtdland. She created the first applied definition of sustainability, which is that development must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. I think this definition is a good basis to what sustainability it is, but it needs more. There are too many loopholes such as what are the needs that are necessary and how can we be sustainable.
We also discussed that in order to reach true sustainability we must work with society, the economy, and the environment. Reaching happiness in all three of those categories is nearly impossible. All three have demanding needs and for people to willing to sacrifice certain items in each category is difficult. Also, within each of these three main categories are many subcategories such as jobs, energy, social justice, and species survival. There are so many variable to create true sustainability, or at least the way people are currently thinking.
In class we also went over the triple bottom theory that means that policy decisions can be made by individuals, corporations, and government. This is a very influential concept when dealing with sustainability. Corporations are some of the greatest of criminals when it comes to harming the environment. If corporations affect policy, it will be difficult to pass policies that limit corporations in order to help the environment.
After the infinite sink theory was overruled, new theories came into play such as the end-of-pipe treatment, pollution prevention, design for environment, and sustainable development. The bad thing about these steps is that it is difficult to complete each one. End-of-pipe and pollution prevention are important and need to be accomplished, but very few people consider the next two steps. Fixing our mistakes is a major concern, but we should also be trying to prevent future mistake.
Another major problem about obtaining sustainability is outsourcing. There are laws in the US to prevent unclear work environments and dumping of chemicals, and other measures harmful to the environment, but other countries do not have such laws. Companies can basically do whatever they want in countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia where they have no constraints. This needs to be stopped. Either other countries must take an initiative and stop these corporations, or corporations must be dealt with in the US.
Lastly, we discussed the UN Conference on Environment and Development and the UN Millennium Conference, both which are very disappointing. Countries keep coming together, promising to reduce waste and their energy usage and not a single country can deliver. Instead of making ridiculous and far-fetched pledges, countries should make logical, and obtainable goals, and actually accomplish them.